Re: How to Age Well

Well said. I've been trying to find ways to minimize stress by doing yoga, reading, eating healthy, and exercising. Everything we do, and every choice we make shape us which is why I'm always telling friends and family to do what makes them happy. At a reasonable means though.

With that said, I've been learning more about things I never used to do such as tai chi, using TENS units, keeping up with the NY Bestsellers and more. There's so much more I want to do!

Re: How to Age Well

My wife Debbie and I are seniors and have been in the health and fitness world for a combined 80 years. Certified as personal trainers in 1992 with American Council on Exercise or ACE.

Through continued education and our own experiences my wife developed a reputation for taking on clients with special needs like Cancer, Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, joint replacements including knee, hip and shoulder, fused vertebrae- upper and lower etc.

I myself, also a certified trainer, started my career as a Hollywood Stuntman, not in Hollywood, but in Hawaii on Magnum PI . In 2000 and at the age of 47 I became Dwayne “The Rock “ Johnson’s First stuntdouble on his breakout movie “The Scorpion King.” Then after 30 years of “hitting the ground” along with the surgeries that came from my chosen profession that brought such unique challenges for my wife and I, that after my third surgery Deb started calling me her science project.

With the needs of her clients including myself , and not to mention her own scoliosis, we had to develope a system that was missing from rehab. Post rehab. We found through trial and era that this important step is a must in order for you to bring back the body to its original neutral position.

We call our system Stacking. It is, by far, the most effective way of preventing surgery from taking place. With the success we’ve had with clients, myself and Deb’s scoliosis we knew something was missing once rehab stopped. This inspired us to write our process down.

Our book “Stacking- Your Skeletal Blueprint for Posture” by Debbie and Norman Compton.

Using a construction theme we take our 206 bones and build the strongest possible structure from the feet up. Naming along the way the important workers that don’t seam to play a roll but secretly do. This is not an exercise book but rather an education on where the process should start. We say “Thinking from your bones out, as opposed to, from the mirror in,” will be key for the visualization techniques we teach.

I read your post with great interest (and looked up your book) because my hubby and I are competitive cyclists at the state senior games level (nationals do not allow recumbent racing ...yet) and intend to look into ACE trainers via the NSGA.

So anyway, I look forward to learning more about stacking. Thank you for bringing it to my (our) attention.

Epster

"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." Julius Erving

Re: How to Age Well

My wife Debbie and I are seniors and have been in the health and fitness world for a combined 80 years. Certified as personal trainers in 1992 with American Council on Exercise or ACE.

Through continued education and our own experiences my wife developed a reputation for taking on clients with special needs like Cancer, Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, joint replacements including knee, hip and shoulder, fused vertebrae- upper and lower etc.

I myself, also a certified trainer, started my career as a Hollywood Stuntman, not in Hollywood, but in Hawaii on Magnum PI . In 2000 and at the age of 47 I became Dwayne “The Rock “ Johnson’s First stuntdouble on his breakout movie “The Scorpion King.” Then after 30 years of “hitting the ground” along with the surgeries that came from my chosen profession that brought such unique challenges for my wife and I, that after my third surgery Deb started calling me her science project.

With the needs of her clients including myself , and not to mention her own scoliosis, we had to develope a system that was missing from rehab. Post rehab. We found through trial and era that this important step is a must in order for you to bring back the body to its original neutral position.

We call our system Stacking. It is, by far, the most effective way of preventing surgery from taking place. With the success we’ve had with clients, myself and Deb’s scoliosis we knew something was missing once rehab stopped. This inspired us to write our process down.

Our book “Stacking- Your Skeletal Blueprint for Posture” by Debbie and Norman Compton.

Using a construction theme we take our 206 bones and build the strongest possible structure from the feet up. Naming along the way the important workers that don’t seam to play a roll but secretly do. This is not an exercise book but rather an education on where the process should start. We say “Thinking from your bones out, as opposed to, from the mirror in,” will be key for the visualization techniques we teach.

Re: How to Age Well

I know an 81 year old who trained on California's highest mountain pass last spring because he wanted to beat his previous recumbent bike racing times at the Huntesman World Senior Games. And he did it! Indeed, he took 4 minutes of his 2016 times.

I know a 70 year old who likewise this year took 3 minutes off his 2016 race times at HWSG.>>

All these feats, btw, are in the record books. It is never too old to get started in your quest to improve your health and change your life ... which is the same thing as aging well.

Yes it is never too late to do what challenges "you". Everyone should try and find what motivates them and pursue that "thing". A person is much more likely to pursue a goal if it something they want and enjoy!

Re: How to Age Well

I know an 81 year old who trained on California's highest mountain pass last spring because he wanted to beat his previous recumbent bike racing times at the Huntsman World Senior Games. And he did it! Indeed, he took 4 minutes of his 2016 times.

I know a 70 year old who likewise this year took 3 minutes off his 2016 race times at HWSG.

Then there's the 70 year old who raced fast enough this year to take the 20K time trial record away from the 65 year old who'd held it for 2 years. (This 65 y-o, btw, holds many 20K TT records across the US)

But the most incredible cycling feat from the Huntsman World Senior Games this year? The 90 year old who took 15 minutes off the previous record for his age group. 15 minutes!!!

All these feats, btw, are in the record books. It is never too old to get started in your quest to improve your health and change your life ... which is the same thing as aging well.

"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." Julius Erving

Re: How to Age Well

Great article. Points out the various aspects of life and that a true meaning of aging well includes a well rounded life!

I found this particularly interesting probably as I am still working and have enjoyed it!!

KEEP WORKING

To retire or not to retire? Studies show that people who keep working well into their 70s and beyond tend to have better health and stay more socially connected. But it’s tough to parse out whether healthy people tend to keep working or whether work tends to keep us healthy. Even so, most research supports the idea that staying busy, maintaining social connections and finding meaning and purpose in your daily routine are all part of healthy aging. Studies also suggest that the type of work matters. If you find work fulfilling and enjoy the company of your colleagues, you should consider sticking with it. If your job is backbreaking or high stress, consider checking out around retirement age — but make a plan for your second act. Volunteer or find paid work somewhere that will keep you active, engaged and give you a reason to get up in the morning.

Retirement itself isn’t a bad thing. Retiring after years of work can feel like a heady vacation at first. But eventually, not working can take a toll on mental health. One study found that the negative effects of retirement — defined as a range of depressive tendencies (such as lack of appetite, lapsed concentration, fatigue and so on) to clinical depression — start to appear after the first few years of ceasing to work.

The main benefit of work may be the social network it offers. A Syracuse University study found that people who continued to work past retirement age enjoyed an increase in the size of their networks of family and friends of 25 percent. The social networks of retired people, on the other hand, shrank during the five-year period. You don’t need to collect a paycheck to reap the health benefits of work. One study of school volunteers over age 50 found that volunteering was linked with better physical health and cognitive gains from interacting with children.

How to Age Well

Getting older is inevitable (and certainly better than the alternative). While you can’t control your age, you can slow the decline of aging with smart choices along the way. From the foods you eat and how you exercise to your friendships and retirement goals — it all has an effect on how fast or slow your body ages. Keep reading for simple ways to keep your body tuned up and your mind tuned in. And the good news is that it’s never too late to get started.